Mara Drotziger
2018 International Marketing MSc graduate Mara is currently Product Owner - Marketing Automation at Leica Camera AG in Munich, Germany.
Since graduating, what have you gone on to do?
After graduating, I returned to Germany and started working in a Consultancy for digital transformation in the Marketing, Sales and Service department. I have been working my way up from Junior, to Consultant, to Senior – focusing on Marketing Automation.
Is the above what you planned to do before starting university?
I didn’t know at the time that this was the exact role I had been looking for, but I always knew I wanted to find a job that combined the creativity of digital marketing with technology and data.
What was your favourite thing about your course?
I enjoyed that it was a mix of courses covering classic disciplines in social studies like social research and statistics, as well as courses where we were able to apply our knowledge in “real-life” scenarios and projects.
Were you involved in any extra-curriculum activities during your time here?
Since the course was quite intense, I decided to join a couple of fun societies for sports and activities like the Dance Society.
Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?
I don’t want my future to be defined by a job title, but rather by the skillset I aim to develop. Coming from a Marketing background, I hope that I will have developed even more technical and IT skills in five years’ time through providing deep knowledge in system architectures and data models. At the same time, my goal is to work on leadership skills in guiding, teaching, but also listening and learning from others in my company.
How do you see future technologies and new ways of working (Future of Work) affecting your sector?
In digital transformation, it is crucial to be on top of new trends. Understanding their impact on technologies and industries enables us to deliver the best fit of recommendations and technologies to our clients. For me and my colleagues, the new ways of working also directly impacts our work. Our office is located in a co-working space where we can flexibly in- or decrease the number of seats our team requires. Almost 90% of our client meetings are taking place digitally with participants calling in from wherever it suits them best. Especially in meetings where a high level of participation is required from everyone, digital workshop planning and presenting skills become more and more important.
What one piece of advice would you give to somebody looking to start a career in your industry?
Be curious and don’t put yourself into a box: You are not JUST a project manager, you are not JUST a developer, you are not JUST creating content. In order to create value in digital transformation, you have to understand the full picture, covering many different areas. This means that you will have to communicate with business functions, sales functions as well as tech and IT departments.
Invest the time, find yourself study buddies, work hard – it is one year, so make it count. BUT know that part of working hard and managing yourself is actively making room for breaks and fun.